How to Make Chhoyela Like a Local?

What is Chhoyela?

Chhoyela is a popular non-vegetarian item in Newari cuisine. It is served both in a Samay Baji set and Newari Bhoye. This dish can also be eaten as a snack with beaten rice and thon (Newari alcohol) or with thon alone.

Typically, chhoyela is made from the meat of water buffalo but other kinds of meat are also used nowadays, especially chicken and lamb. As far as preparation goes, there are two types of chhoyela: mana (boiled) chhoyela and haku (black) chhoyela.

Chhoyela is a lot more popular than any other Newari dishes and can be found in most local restaurants in Nepal.

Do I have to go to Nepal to try this?

Nope! At Nepal Restaurant we pride ourselves on our traditional cooking techniques and are confident that we can serve you an authentic plate of chhoyela right in London.

BUT if you fancy yourself a cook, then we’d love to share our recipe with you!

What utensils are needed to make Chhoyela?

As with any experiment, making sure you have the right equipment is a good place to start!

Add half teaspoon of red chilli powder. You can add a bit more than that but we recommend not to.

Add one tablespoon of garlic paste and ginger paste each.

Cut green chillies into small pieces and add it to the mixture.

Mix the ingredients well.

Add some cut coriander leaves on top to give it a great aroma.

Voila! Your “locally” made chhoyela is ready to be served!

How can I make mana chhoyela?

There are a few difference while preparing mana chhoyela.

Start by cutting the meat into small, bitable size pieces in any shape you like.

After this boil the meat with half teaspoon of turmeric until it suits your taste. Boiling it for 12 minutes usually gives the best result.

You can now follow the above steps from #4 onward, but before finishing it off with coriander leaves as per step #10, heat two spoonfuls of mustard oil in a new frying pan. Add two teaspoons of fenugreek seeds into this pan and fry until it is brown. Remember not to let it get burned or else the taste will be ruined.

Put the oil with the fenugreek seeds into the mixture.

After the oil cools down, mix it again…. and you’re done!

I can’t eat this because I’m vegetarian!

Chhoyela is usually non-vegetarian, but for our animal loving friends we’ve come up with the best solution: use mushroom instead of meat!

Mind you, this is not a “traditional” dish but we want everyone to enjoy the taste of chhoyela!

I Don’t Feel Like Cooking

Feeling lazy to cook this at home? Not that good with your frying pan? Don’t miss out on this gastronomical delight!

Visit us at 121 Uxbridge Road, White City, London or 23 Boston Parade, Boston Road, London, and let us serve this mouth-watering plate of Newari cuisine to your taste buds.